Augusta Praetoria (Aosta)

AUGUSTA PRAETORIA (Aosta), ancient Regio XI, modern Italy.

 

COORDINATES: 45º44’18.83’’N // 7º19’20.42’’E

TIPOLOGY: Roman theatre.

DATE: First I A.D.

TRANSFORMATIONS:

CAPACITY: 4.000 spectators.

CAVEA: Facing Nort-Northwest. 59,6 m. diameter. It´s not known how was exactly the maenianum, buy rows in ima were divided in 3 cunei.

ORCHESTRA: 18,8 m diameter including bisellia (12,7 m.)

STAGE BUILDING: The scaenae frons is very well preserved, one of the best in the ancient world; it´s rectilinear and had two storeys. Proscaenium with 3 curved and 2 rectangular niches; there’s aulaeum remains. Pulpitum was 45,5x6,9 m.-8,45 including proscaenium-.

LOCATION: The ancient theatre is in Aosta old town. 120 klm. north from Torino.

MY BEDSIDE TABLE: Tosi, Giovana; “Gli edificio per spettacoli nell’Italia romana”. Roma, Quasar, 2003. // Courtois, Catherine; “Le bâtiment de scène des théâtres d’Italie et de Sicile”. Providence, Louvain-la.Neuve, 1989. // Sear, Frank; “Roman theatres: an architectural study”. Oxford University Press, 2006. // Ciancio Rossetto, Paola; Giuseppina Pisani Sartorio (eds); “Teatri Greci e Romani: alle origini del linguaggio rappresentato”. Rome: SEAT, 1995. // Izenour, George. Roofed Theaters of Classical Antiquity. Yale University Press, 1992. // “Teatri antichi nell’area del Mediterraneo”. Palermo, I Quaderni di Palazzo Montalbo, 2004.

OUT OF PRINT: A journey to the Alps, not for climbing mounts or ski. Like Anibal crossing the Alps, but not in an elephant, the Spanish king do not let live them, in a Fiat, from Switzerland to Italy, the roman steps dyed white.